28 November 2007 1:10 PM

On patrol with the Marines in no-man's land

To fix a small hole in the road at Kajaki, Afghanistan, requires several scores of heavily-armed Royal Marines and Gurkhas including snipers, combat engineers, medics and mortar teams.

The hole in question happens to be in no-man's land, just a few hundred yards short of the nearest Taliban firing position.

The Marines of Charlie Company, 40 Commando, have a luxury which is unusual for British forces in Afghanistan. They know where the enemy is.

Tasked with protecting the strategically-vital Kajaki dam, which provides electricity and irrigation water for most of Helmand Province, the Marines control - in a loose sense - a bubble of territory extending some two to three miles around the dam itself.

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On patrol: Royal Marine Commandos south of their base at Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan.

From their compound The Marines can clearly see the 'FLET' - Forward Line of Enemy Troops - marked by a line of sun-baked compounds in the middle distance, held by Taliban fighters.

Virtually all the local civilians have fled, so that instead of patrolling through busy towns and villages where every local is a potential Taliban gunman, Charlie Company are able to fight a more conventional battle.

It is the only place in Afghanistan where the term 'FLET' is used.

The two sides in the fight for Kajaki have reached a strange deadlock.

The Royal Marines lack the manpower or firepower to push the Taliban further back, and are content for now to safeguard the dam itself, launching frequent fighting patrols to stop enemy encroachment.

For their part the Taliban lack the strength to storm the British positions - which are backed by a ridge of high hills from where the Marines have a commanding view of the entire area - and seem satisfied with containing the UK forces, lobbing occasional mortar shells and rockets at the British base, and fighting viciously when the Marines approach.

Nor do the insurgents want to destroy the huge Kajaki Dam or disrupt its electricity supply, which would enrage the ordinary Afghans whose support the Taliban need.

Bizarrely the militants even allow the local power station workers to pass unhindered through their own frontline each morning on their way to work at the dam, carrying a special pass, and to return each night to their homes in Taliban-held territory.

It is a unique situation, as the Taliban are notorious for intimidating or killing locals who cooperate with coalition forces.

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The Marines protect Kajaki dam, which provides electricity and irrigation water for most of Helmand Province

We joined the men of Charlie Company on a morning patrol into the southern 'FLET' area, tasked with protecting the Gurkha Engineers as they repair a stretch of road, then sweeping through a previously-unvisited area of mud-walled compounds.

"The (heavy weapons teams) on our vehicles or the snipers can see them better, and talk us onto the targets, but it's often just a window or a hole in a compound wall the Taliban are firing from.

"They tend not to attack unless we approach within a certain distance. So it either all goes kinetic [a firefight] or we have a kind of Mexican stand-off."

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The Marines mix with local farmers

Our patrol moves into no-man's land - an area of fields, irrigation ditches and compounds flanking the Helmand River.

We meet a handful of local farmers who have fled their homes because of the fighting, but are so desperate to scratch a living that they occasionally return to their fields to hurriedly tend their crops, sometimes by torch-light at night, watched suspiciously by both the Taliban and the Royal Marines.

Through the interpreters the farmers ask the British troops, should we leave the area? Are you going to fight? Will you warn us?

A Marine tells them they are welcome to stay.

We will not fight today unless the Taliban open fire but we cannot guarantee the farmers' safety.

The nervous farmers eventually decide their crops are not worth the risk today, and they make to leave.

These Afghans live their lives quite literally in the cross-fire.

The Marines are encouraged that they are here at all, as the locals appear to feel at least a little safer than in previous months.

"We have to try to make them feel safe enough to farm," Dozza observes.

"It's no good us just killing the bad guys. These locals have got to farm or they'll starve to death. There's no Tesco on the corner, like."

For the British troops the main danger here is from hidden booby-trap bombs.

The Taliban creep out and bury crude pressure-plate devices connected to old artillery shells or other explosives. They are deadly when they work, and finding them requires patience and skill with metal detectors.

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Searches of the farm land is carried out in order to find hidden booby-trap bombs

The Marines move on as the heat grows more intense, systematically clearing and searching a warren of abandoned farmers' compounds, moving steadily closer to the Taliban lines.

A few more farmers appear, along with a handful of children - smiling and curious as always.

Each section of troops carries a lightweight assault ladder to gain access to roofs, and stretchers in case of casualties.

Nice to see he is still plugging a major supermarket even in the hell hole of Afghanistan, if only they could build a Sainsbury's all this would be over as all the Taliban would be too busy trying to cook jamie olivers latest recipe!

my heart goes out to all you men and women over there ,keep ur spirits high and ur bodies safe . god bless you all . your our back bone of britain , not the guys in suits that just talk gibberish . take care . xxx